According to a website which compares insurance companies' rates for consumers, Buffalo ranks among the Top 20 in the nation for best drivers. It was the only New York State municipality studied which made Quote Wizard's "good list."
Adam Johnson, research analyst for Quote Wizard, explains that every year his company studies the driving habits of 75 U.S. cities.
"We take a composite score of those rankings, the highest rates of accidents, speeding tickets, DUIs and citations, and we rank all 75 U.S. cities by best and worst drivers," Johnson said.
Buffalo ranked 14th among the "best" cities while Rochester ranked 21st among the "worst." New York City placed 31st worst in the nation. (Click here for the full lists.)
The worst of all, according to the lists, is Portland, Oregon. The website says the city tops the baddest of drivers due to the number of speeding tickets written in that city in the past year.
The best drivers in the nation? Detroit, according to the survey. Quote Wizard suggests one of the key factors behind better driving behavior in the Motor City may be the large number of uninsured drivers there. People are either trying to avoid causing an accident due to lack of insurance, or are avoiding being hit by someone unable to compensate.
While Buffalo's rank might indicate this region may enjoy lower insurance rates, Johnson notes that even if an individual has a good driving record, one's rates may still be adversely affected simply by the bad behavior of others surrounding that motorist.
"Even if you are a clean driver, insurance companies look at millions of data points. If they see an area where folks are getting into a high rate of accidents, speeding tickets, DUIs and citations, any kind of those incidents, insurance companies evaluate those areas as high risk," he said. "Even if you're one of those folks with a clean record, you could still see your insurance rates go up."
